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Russian soldiers reportedly refusing to redeploy to Ukraine, citing unwillingness to become “cannon fodder” (photo proof)

Destroyed Russian armored convoy in Ukrainian town of Bucha. 1 March 2022. The Russo-Ukrainian War (2014-present. (Photo: Serhii Nuzhenko, RFE-RL)
Destroyed Russian armored convoy in Ukrainian town of Bucha on 1 March 2022. Credit: Serhii Nuzhenko
Article by: Alya Shandra

The Guildhall agency, a Ukrainian news agency focused on Russia’s war against Ukraine, leaked photographs of personal statements written by Russian soldiers who participated in the military actions at the Ukrainian territory and returned to their home bases. Guildhall says the photos were given to it by a verified source. The personal statements are addressed to the commander of their military units and state that their authors refuse to go back to the area of combat operations in Ukraine.

Related: Will a Ukraine-Russia reconciliation ever be possible?

The Guildhall news agency in Ukraine received personal statements written by soldiers and officers who reportedly belong to the 41st Combined Arms Army that deployed to Ukraine in full at the start of the invasion. The provided photos of the statements mention reasons for the soldiers’ reluctance to participate in the war, including an unwillingness to be used as “cannon fodder,” commanders’ failure to explain the reasons for the military operation in Ukraine, scarcity of technical means, and ammunition, communications failure within the chain of military command, and many others.

Related: War in Ukraine intensified zombification of Russian TV viewers: longer programs, higher hysteria, no more opponents

Sergeant Sapar M. Mirapov wrote in his personal statement to the commander of the Military Unit #61899:

“… I hereby report that I consider it impossible to re-deploy due to the unit’s poor organization, lack of communications and technical means. [On my original tour], I arrived without understanding why I was needed there, without any explanations of the task. I don’t want to be ‘cannon fodder.’”

Sergeant Mirapov's personal statement to his unit commander stating his refusal for a second combat deployment to Ukraine.
Sergeant Mirapov’s personal statement to his unit commander stating his refusal for a second combat deployment to Ukraine.
Military Unit #61899 is a shorthand for the 27th Separate Guards Sevastopol Red Banner Motor Rifle Brigade, which has participated in the following engagements since the collapse of the Soviet Union: the 1991 Soviet coup d’état attempt, the 1993 Russian constitutional crisis, the First Chechen War, the Second Chechen War, and the Russian military intervention in the Syrian civil war.

Also, the commander of the 2nd section of the 3rd platoon of the 9th motorized rifle company, Junior Sergeant Alexander A. Pugachev informed his battalion commander that he

“… refuses to participate again in the military hostilities in Ukraine due to the lack of logistical support, absence of coordination of actions, absence of any communication within the unit and with the command.”

Junior Sergeant Pugachev's personal statement to his unit commander stating his refusal for a second combat deployment to Ukraine.
Junior Sergeant Pugachev’s personal statement to his unit commander stating his refusal for a second combat deployment to Ukraine.

The commander of the 2nd motorized rifle platoon of the 9th motorized rifle company, Lieutenant A. Yegorov, stated that

“… from the very beginning we were faced with [the command’s] deception and concealment of the true goals and tasks of the military deployment. Incomprehensible ‘military exercise tasks’ meant a dramatically different thing … After our crossing the border into Ukraine, we completely discredited ourselves in the eyes of both the world and the Slavic community. From that moment on, our actions and nature were of an occupation army, which was clearly expressed by the reaction of the civilian population.”

Below are photocopies of other personal statements of the soldiers of the Russian military.

In addition, a Guildhall source in the Ukrainian government reported that due to the refusal of some officials of the Russian military, including deputy commanders of the 76th Airborne Assault Division (based in Pskov, Russia), to comply with the order to conduct hostilities on the territory of Ukraine, four members of the division were detained by the military police.

Related: “Russian” combat losses in Ukraine appear to be disproportionately non-Russians or ethnic Russians from rural areas

According to the press service of the General Staff of the Armed Forces of Ukraine, since the beginning of the invasion of Ukraine, as of March 15, the total combat losses of the Russian military amounted to more than 13,500 personnel.

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